I've kind of realized a lot of these posts have boiled down to shitting on some mon to hopefully turn people off of either using it altogether or generally in the wrong role or situation. I mean it's a fine way of 'educating' people on those subjects and what to avoid when trying to put together their own teams, but that's only part of the equation. Side note: it's honestly impressive I never made one about Bronzong to this point but that's a topic for another day. You obviously want to use good Pokemon/frameworks/etc. to get the most of out building in this tier, especially considering how constrained it is, and I intend to focus a bit more on those in the near future assuming I don't get busy as shit with school and other stuff.
Something I've realized more and more over the last couple years is just how much Empoleon enables on its usual frameworks. I believe I've talked some about this in my Mandiqueen Rose RMT and stuff, but realistically there are only so many truly consistent team styles and frameworks. Not every Pokemon is equally viable and when it comes to effectively taking on some of the tier's dominant threats like Conkeldurr, Hydreigon, and Celebi, it's only natural that certain combinations will be better equipped in doing so, while actually accomplishing something and not treating the teambuilder like a checklist.
This is where things are a little weird. Shouldn't a Pokemon that I've said barely counts as either a Water or Steel in a tier with such limited teambuilding options be more of a hinderance than anything? In a way, yes, but overall, Empoleon's near-unmatched utility and unique one-on-one matchups more than offsets that type of thought process that would theoretically make perfect sense. I mean, just look at it. It is a bulky Water-type that doesn't do the usual things like check Entei and Mega Aerodactyl by any stretch, and it is a Steel-type that again, doesn't check Mega Aero, and also doesn't resist Grass, a huge negative in a tier where Celebi is so common. However, teambuilding in this game goes far beyond a Pokemon's stats, typing, and overall power level at a glance. Context is incredibly important, and it is largely the reason that Empoleon was considered a top 10 option in the most recent viability rankings.
Despite its awkward typing, it does have a lot to offer. I've referred to the tier's incredibly limited hazard removal options time and time again, and Empoleon finds itself as one of the easiest to fit with its access to Defog. Beyond that, it is a hazard removal option that actually wants to run it, and that's where its usual team frameworks come in. Crobat is a notoriously dog shit Defog user. That is due to its poor one-on-one matchups against pretty much all rockers in the tier in addition to its usual 4MSS. This thing wants every move under the sun, and Bulk Up Conkeldurr's presence in tier makes it running a bulky Haze Acrobat set a near given, since usually you aren't using this thing alongside a bulky Fairy (that less so has to do with general fit than awkward synergy, ie: fitting another hazard remover to free up bat from doing so is tough, among others. Sky Plate Brave Bird U-turn Taunt Roost and shit are nice, but fitting them is pretty rare). Anyway, there are very few things in the tier that are as easy to abuse as Defog Haze Acrobat. There legitimately could not be a more passive glue to put on a supposed bulky offense team that it'll usually find itself on, since 1) it can't fit U-turn and 2) it can't keep rocks off for itself so it sits there Roosting more than anything. As for the latter point, Conk teams can just throw up some rocks and double once or twice, then the Crobat user is entirely on the back foot. Empoleon alleviates all of this, letting Crobat play in a more upbeat style, not worrying about clearing hazards for itself and being much better equipped to get its hard-hitting teammates into favorable positions, which is by far the best way to use it.
Admittedly, Empoleon has taken a mild step back in this regard, but it also finds itself as one of the absolute best teammates for Conkeldurr. This mostly refers to its traditional Bulk Up set, but based on the build and what it can afford defensively, there are other, more immediately threatening options as well. The area I referred to off the bat was that defensive Sylveon has all but died off. Sylveon's WIsh + Protect recovery was so bad that Empoleon built much of its formidable niche off of simply phazing it out to prevent the fairy cat from healing itself. That would obviously allow teammates like Conkeldurr and Hydreigon to get out of hand much much more easily, but again, that isn't the case nearly as much anymore with the rise of Florges. Anyway, in the new age, Empoleon and Conk still fit remarkably well together, and a good portion of that symbiotic relationship is owed to their defensive synergy. Hydreigon is one of the absolute hardest Pokemon to cover defensively in the tier, commonly forcing the hand of builders into throwing on a Florges in combination with the presence of Conkeldurr. Specially defensive Empoleon and Bulk Up Conkeldurr are pretty much the best non-Fairy-type forms of counterplay to the Dragon just by virtue of their bulk on that side and combined resistance of its powerful STAB moves. So in a way, despite Empoleon not offering teams some of the usual utility of a Steel or Water, it does offset that by potentially alleviating teams of the need to run a bulky Fairy. If It wasn't implied already, These two are traditionally used alongside the aforementioned Crobat, which handles the opposing Bulk Up Conk issue that is brought about by the lack of Fairy on the team. In addition to the Fairy-type-by-committee approach, there's just some nice synergy there, as Conk can get some free turns off of Crobat's now-enabled U-turns on Steel-types and stuff too.
Aside from Defog, Empoleon has a couple other moves open besides its implied Scald in the other slot. They are incredibly flexible, and that's what makes Empoleon so flexible within these frameworks that may appear limited at a glance. They could be anything ranging from Signal Beam, Ice Beam, Toxic, Roar, Protect, Knock Off, Stealth Rock, etc. I have a heavy inclination towards some as opposed to others, but all have merit in some sort of sense. It is usually a choice between Signal Beam and Ice Beam, as Empoleon really wants to immediately threaten Hydreigon in some form, then there's a bit of trade off besides that. Signal Beam most notably nails Celebi of course, and still finds itself as the team's main Celebi check despite its previously brought up neutrality to Grass. Make no mistake (as seen in a certain UUPL game), it still needs a couple other loose checks and Grass pivots like Crobat, but generally it will be the thing coming in safely and winning the 1v1 handily when healthy. Ice Beam is a bit stronger against Hydra and nails Roserade and Mega Sceptile. The latter of which being a threat is an unintended negative consequence of forgoing a bulky Fairy and sometimes a Scarfer to outright revenge kill it. The last slot is a lot more open-ended. You might have guessed that with the drop off of Sylveon, Roar is much less of a fixture, which is arguable used to be, although it still is useful in some capacity. Still fucks over Wish passes and can phaze a boosted Cune or Gyarados so there's that. People use Protect but I've never been a fan tbh. It isn't super uncommon you get into Scald wars or other awkward situations like getting Knocked by Tenta, basically making the slot useless and the benefits don't really outweigh the others anyway. Toxic is rightfully gaining more traction with the rise of Seismitoad and Slowking, which are otherwise suuuper tough for it to deal with barring some fuck shit. You'll generally always have another rocker but there's that too I guess. Utility utility utility.
So, besides the usual Conkeldurr and Crobat alongside Empoleon, another actual bulky Water-type is a near guarantee. I'm pretty meh on the idea of Slowking next to it, despite making use of the combination of myself, but ideally the Water is incredibly formidable against Mega Aerodactyl considering how loose Empoleon is as a Steel against it, and you likely won't be fitting another Steel so yeah. The flying dino can get out of hand real quick, kinda turning me off of those two together though I don't think it's bad by any means. The main one that stands out is Seismitoad, which of course is incredibly strong against Mega Aero and can alleviate the need to run rocks on Empoleon (cwl) and also Knock Off. Seismitoad can fuck up opposing Emp and Tenta itself, so crippling them is less crucial. I'm not saying you
have to use these 4 or anything, but in is a generically very solid start to a team. One of the more common last slots is Hydreigon of some set, but it is worth noting that Steel coverage Hydreigon and Bulk Up Conk have a ton of natural synergy for obvious reasons. Besides Conk sweeping potentially, Hydreigon can also open up itself by catching Florges on the switch after Conk has already knocked it. Scarf sets are also feasible, and that's another thing that's so nice about these kinds of teams. Although the Pokemon themselves are a little limited, their sets have enough breathing room to mold to their partners. Speaking of, there is a ton to do with the last slot, and Hydreigon itself isn't 100% necessary so ye.
Lastly, I just wanted to hit on some key teambuilding habits that have triggered me to some extent in the past. To me, Empoleon + Florges is pretty flipping redundant, since as I've said, a huge huge reason Empoleon is this useful is because it allows teams to forgo that kind of bulky Fairy and remain more upbeat offensively. I mean, it'll still do Empoleon things, but I can't help but feel like its miscast in a role where its defensive uses aren't even necessary. I've said this 9000 times, but ORAS UU is very hard to fit everything you want, and Empoleon is one of the few enablers that lets you bypass that usual standard balance approach. Moving on, another one just ties back to being overly loose in handling Mega Aerodactyl. One I just referred to was that of Slowking, which of course implies that the Ground-type next to the two will not be a Seismitoad or Swampert or whatever. The Ground is commonly more offensive, being a Nidoqueen or Krook or something. My Mandiqueen Rose team can be seen as a bit of a counterexample to this statement (although it's a bit of an outlier and Coba is there to offensively check too), but Slowking should never ever be the near 'sole' check to the Flying dino. The hypothetical rocks Krook is a more passable than Nidoqueen, but it obviously isn't punishing Aero too hard since it really needs Taunt in the last slot. CB is an option yeah but hf with rocks Emp and Defog Bat.
tldr: Empoleon is cool and opens the door to team styles that would otherwise be impossible, make the most of it please. In that way it really reminds me of that one friend who's always pushing you to get outside your comfort zone and do some wild shit. Sure, if you have a couple drinks with some friends at home (Florges balance), he'll take up the necessary space and be a good presence, but that's not his ideal setting. Thanks for reading this sirs, it ended up a lot longer than envisioned.